


In the Arcade

by IWannaBeYahtzee



Category: IT - Stephen King, It - 2017
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Gay Panic, Homophobia, Hurt No Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Missing Scene, One-Sided Attraction, Period-Typical Homophobia, Secret Crush, Self-Hatred, Unhealthy Relationships, Unrequited Crush, bad boy, preteen love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 00:02:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21328894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWannaBeYahtzee/pseuds/IWannaBeYahtzee
Summary: The interactions that took place between Richie and Henry Bowers Cousin before that heartbreaking scene we got to see in the movie.
Relationships: Connor Bowers/Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Richie Toizer/Henry Bowers Cousin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 134





	In the Arcade

**Author's Note:**

> So obviously the scene we saw in the movie couldn't have been the first time they met. Right?! I mean it seemed like they knew each other! So here i am filling in those blanks. You're welcome
> 
> Edit: So I have been informed that he actually has a name! It's Connor! So I've edited the fic. Sorry about that yall!

Richie pounded hard on the cheap, plastic buttons of the arcade cabinet, pouring all of his frustrations with his friends and his situation into making the characters on screen annihilate each other.   
  
Stupid fucking Bill.  
  
His cheek still stung from where he had punched him. Maybe if he could get his head out of his ass he would've realized that he could've gotten them all killed. Richie groaned in frustration as the bit crushed "Game Over." played from the shitty speakers. More determined than ever, he reached for the token he had placed on the edge of the console screen. His eyes widened in horror as he mistakenly brushed it off the edge and watched it start to fall. He tried to catch it but to no avail and it fell right in between the cabinets.  
  
"Shit!" Richie hissed, cursing his shitty luck.  
  
"That sucks man."   
  
He hadn't noticed anyone coming over to stand beside him but when he turned- Oh wow. Richie felt his heart jump in his chest in a way it had only ever done for one other person. The boy standing next to him, with his blonde curls falling into his dark brown eyes and his rugged look, was the epitome of everything that made Richie feel simultaneously warm and fuzzy and dirty and shameful inside.  
  
"Here."  
  
The boy smiled at him and held out a token. Richie could feel his face getting hot and he hoped to whatever god was listening that it wasn't showing. He adjusted his glasses and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He closed it and opened it again, this time managing to force out "Uh...thanks."   
  
Even as he chastised himself for behaving like an idiot he was unable to control the grin that came over his face as he reached out to take it. Their fingers brushed as he took the token, they were warm and calloused and goddamnit could you really blame him for imagining them lacing in between his?  
  
Richie blinked himself out of his reverie and cleared his throat, determined not to make any more of an ass out of himself than he already had.  
  
"Thanks man! That's really cool of you."   
  
The boy shrugged. "Yeah, I mean we've all been there."  
  
Distractedly pushing his glasses up his nose again, Richie continued. "I don't think I've seen you around before. You new here?"   
  
"Staying with family for the summer. This place is a real shithole though." He laughed. "Uh no offense." He added belatedly.   
  
"None taken." Richie insisted. "I'm getting out of this town first chance I get. It sucks so much here."   
  
This made the boy laugh. "You should come up to California then. We've got the best beaches in the world, Disneyland, and Death Valley."  
  
"What's Death Valley?"  
  
"Its _literally_ the hottest place on earth!"  
  
"Cool!"  
  
Richie tried his hardest to focus on the conversation and ignore the uncomfortable amount of fluttering his heart was doing.  
  
"I'm Connor. By the way." The boy said, not extending his hand, to which Richie was only the slightest bit disappointed on missing out on another excuse to touch him.  
  
"Richie."   
  
"Richie, huh? Nice glasses." Connor commented.  
  
"Oh. Uh thanks." Richie replied with a little half smile.  
  
"That wasn't a compliment. You look like a dork."   
  
Ouch. That hurt more than it usually would've. A little caught off guard but not easily defeated Richie smirked and replied "Oh yeah? Well I bet this dork can beat you at street fighter." Holding up the token he was gifted.  
  
"Oh you're on!" Connor stated, holding up a token of his own.  
  
Tokens in slots, characters selected, Ken vs Ryu, "**Round one: FIGHT!**"   
  
Connor was a vicious player, most of the arcade regulars didn't stand a chance against Richie but for once it actually came down to the wire. Richie won by an inch. Connor pushed back from the console with growl of annoyance.  
  
"Aaaaaand boom!" Richie put on his Spanish accent and gloated exaggeratedly "Do these look like lips that speak lies?!"  
  
Connor laughed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever. Like I totally didn't let you win."  
  
"Oh bullshit!"  
  
"Hey I was just trying to be nice! You've never fought me before I didn't want to piss you off that much!" He claimed.  
  
"Yeah yeah sure. You're so full of shit your ass must be jealous of your mouth for the amount of shit that comes out of it!" Richie cried.  
  
Connor laughed again, this cute little hiccupy thing that made his nose crinkle adorably. He mimed wiping a tear from his eye.  
  
"You're hilarious Rich! You know what?" He said, fishing a couple dollars out of his pocket. "I got my allowance today. Let's go another round. This time I won't go easy on you."  
  
They played a couple more games, Connor besting him a few times and the final score between them was 3 - 3.   
  
"Looks like it's a tie." Richie declared.  
  
Connor chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Looks like it. Listen my mom'll kick my ass if she finds out I spent my entire allowance on games but maybe we can play again sometime?" He said stretching out a hand towards Richie.   
  
Richie uncertainly took the other boys hand to shake it. "Yeah sure!"  
  
Connor pulled his hand away with another chuckle. "No not like- here like this!"   
  
The boy grabbed his wrist to show him. He slapped their palms together, letting their fingers drag across each other as they separated. Richie felt a shiver run up his spine. Damn why did even his hands have to be so attractive?!  
  
"Its like a...secret handshake." Connor explained. "My cousin taught me it."  
  
"...Cool." Was all Richie could think to reply.  
  
  
Richie lay awake that night, feeling confused and happy and ashamed and...a little guilty. By doing this wasn't he kinda betraying...? He shook his head, banishing the thought. It wasn't like they were talking right now and even if they were there was no way he'd ever like Richie like that. And there was no denying it now, he really really liked this boy. He closed his eyes and let Connor's face drift into his minds eye. He imagined running his fingers through that mop of curly blonde hair, imagined those calloused fingers taking his hand and squeezing it tight, imagined those warm, plump lips pressed against his.  
  
Richie fisted his sheets and buried his face into his pillow, groaning miserably. Self loathing, disgust and revulsion battled it out with rightness, desire and gratification in his head. He had to roll off of his stomach (taking the pillow with him) because he soon felt sick. He hated that it had to feel like this. That this battle always had to play out in his head whenever he met someone who made him feel good. Richie briefly wondered if he was a masochist because he had already made up his mind about seeing him again.

  
  
The second Richie finished his chores and had his allowance in hand he was running off to the arcade, hoping, praying that he'd be there. He pushed open the doors and quickly scanned the rows of cabinets, his heart sinking when he didn't see him. Suddenly a pair of hands clapped down hard on his shoulders.  
  
"Boo!"  
  
Richie jumped back with a little yelp, finding Connor standing behind him, howling with laughter. "Gotcha!" He cried.  
  
Richie scowled and shoved him good naturedly. "You scared the shit outta me asshole!"  
  
"Aww what? You miss me?" Connor teased.  
  
_Yes._  
  
"Ha! You wish!"   
  
"Liar. So you ready to get your ass kicked?"   
  
Richie held up his fist full of dollars and change. "I got us today. Y'know since you spent so much yesterday. Plus my parents don't really care what I spend my allowance on."  
  
"Nice! Wish my folks were that cool." Connor commented.  
  
Richie shrugged as he put the coins into the token machine. "I think they're just glad to get me outta the house."  
  
Soon they were deeply engrossed in both the game and conversation. "So what else do you do for fun around here?" Connor asked as Ken smacked Ryu with a Hadoken on screen.  
  
"Eh, theres movies but all the good shit gets here like a month late. Theres some biking trails but uh..." Richie trailed off. He hadn't ridden his bike in weeks, he walked to the arcade. He didn't even really know why. When his mom had asked him about it he had just made a crack about how she was always pestering him to get more exercise.  
  
"What? What's up?"   
  
Connor really was kicking his ass now, he had to get his head in the game. "Nothing just...I used to ride with these guys I usually hung out with but...we aren't really talking much now."  
  
"That sucks. What happened?"   
  
_One of my closest friends insisted we go into a crack den and try to kill a psycho clown. Didn't go well._  
  
"...I don't wanna talk about it. What about you? Meet anybody cool yet? Besides me obviously." Richie questioned, turning to give Connor a big, exaggerated grin.  
  
"Ha ha hilarious." Connor grinned. "Nah everybody's like...way too stuffy in this damn town. And my mom keeps forcing me to hang out with my cousin and his asshole friends."  
  
"Sorry man. Unfortunately theres like... an excess of assholes here." Richie replied, empathetically.  
  
This drew another chuckle from Connor and Richie couldn't help the way his heart lit up. He just couldn't help but cherish every laugh he managed to get out of him. The round had long since ended at this point, Richie had lost cause he was nowhere near concentrating. It got even harder when Connor turned to look him in the eye as he leaned against the console.  
  
"You're like the only cool person here. You know, cool for Derry."   
  
Richie put a hand over his pounding heart and pretended to tear up. "Wow. I'm touched, Connie. Glad to be Derry's representative for cool."  
  
Connor smiled. "Yeah yeah. Don't let it go to your head."  
  
"Its a dubious honor to say the least. But with any luck I won't be hanging around here much longer." Richie said, leaning alongside him.  
  
"Well if you do make it out of here, maybe come on up to Cali. It really is a cool place. Plus we could hang out more."  
  
Holy shit. Had he just heard him correctly? God if it was possible he'd do it right now. Fuck Derry, fuck those assholes he called his friends, California with Connor sounded like fucking paradise. So he might've been a bit breathless when he hastily replied "T-That'd be awesome!"  
  
Connor gave him a bit of an odd look before laughing a little. "Don't go drooling over it or anything. Come on, let's go again."  
  
They played a couple more rounds and then suddenly Connor was saying he had to leave. "Already?" Richie asked. They couldn't have been there for more than thirty minutes.  
  
"Yeah I got stuff to do. Maybe I'll catch you later." He said over his shoulder as he walked away.   
  
Richie felt his heart getting heavy as he watched him leave. "Yeah, see you later." He mumbled, feeling brushed off.

  
  
Richie flopped down on his bed that night feeling more confused than ever. Why was it always so bi-polar with this guy?! One second he's feeling on top of the world the next he's at the bottom of the barrel. And he seemed to be looking for every excuse to go. Maybe these should've been registering as bigger red flags than they were but Connor made him feel happy in a way he hadn't felt since he fell out with the others. He was probably just looking too deeply into it, right? Why was he even thinking about this so much? He didn't want Connor thinking he was obsessed with him or something! Even if he kinda was...  
  
Richie let out another irritated groan into his pillow. This was all something that future Richie could worry about. Present Richie just wanted to get some sleep.

  
  
He continued going to the arcade every chance he got. Connor wasn't always there but when he was his company was always equally enjoyable and perplexing. Building Richie up one moment only to tear him down the next, and always making excuses to leave early. Richie was just piling up evidence for that masochism idea because even if it hurt, he just kept coming back for more.

  
  
"Come on, you! Come on!" Richie muttered, pounding the buttons, determined to break their tie (11 - 11). He snuck a quick glance at Connor, admiring the look of resolve on his handsome face.   
  
"Ken, you little bitch!" Connor cursed as Richie landed the final blow.  
  
"Yes!" Richie pumped his fist in the air.  
  
"You're fucking good!" Connor complimented breathlessly, holding out his hand for their secret hand shake. Richie beamed unabashedly at this and gladly performed it, not missing out on a chance to feel those warm calloused fingers against his.   
  
His glee was quickly dampened when Connor pushed himself off the cabinet. "Well I gotta go."  
  
Why was he always in such a hurry?  
  
Where was he always going off to?  
  
Couldn't they just...  
  
"Hey!"  
  
It was out of his mouth before he could stop himself and Connor was already turning around.   
  
"Um..."  
  
Richie quickly reached for the extra token he had placed on the console screen. "How about we go again? Play some more you know?"  
  
Connor was giving him that weird look again, like he couldn't quite believe he was being asked this question.  
  
"O-only if you want to!" Richie quickly added, noticing his discomfort.  
  
Connor's eyes darted to the back exit then back to him. When they returned they were different. Crueler.  
  
"Dude, why're you being weird? I'm not you're fucking boyfriend."  
  
It hit him like a ton of bricks. His heart dropped into his stomach, his chest started to ache and his throat closed up so his voice was very small as he stuttered out "Woah I...I didn't..."  
  
"The fucks going on here?"  
  
Bowers. Henry fucking Bowers and all his stupid friends oh fucking god please not now. The last thing he needed was this dickhead coming in and ruining things more than he already had. But then Connor turned around and addressed Henry.  
  
"You assholes didn't tell me your town was full of little fairies!"  
  
Richie felt his heart shatter. He swallowed hard and did his damnedest not to cry. Of course the guy he liked would turn traitor on him.  
  
"Richie fucking Tozier?" Henry sneered, stalking closer having found his next target. "What, you trying to bone my little cousin?" He gestured to Connor.  
  
Cousin?  
  
Fuck.   
  
It all made waaaaay to much fucking sense now. Coming from out of state to visit family, the asshole friends he had mentioned, why he was always so eager to get away, and now that he saw it the resemblance was undeniable.  
  
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE FAGGOT!" Henry shouted.  
  
Richie flinched, tearing up as he began to back away. He looked at Connor desperately for help but he looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.  
  
"Fucking move!" Henry demanded.  
  
Richie turned away, devastated and heartbroken, and ran out of the arcade, swiping at the tears streaming down his cheeks. Because of course, of course the universe wouldn't even let him have this! Wouldn't even let him have one thing that made him feel good!


End file.
